Job's seventh speech

The Book of Job Chapter 21

Job replies to the criticism of Zophar and says his complaint is not with people, but with God. Just look at me and be stunned, he says, put your hand over your mouth in shock.

The truth, says Job, is that the wicked live to a good old age and grow wealthy and enjoy their grandchildren and God does not punish them. Their days are in prosperity and then they go to the grave in peace, even though they tell God to go away and want no part of God's ways.

Yet, says, Job the wicked get away with it time and again and God skips them when he distributes sorrows and anger. And you say, he tells Zophar, that God will punish their children? But I say God should punish the ones who sin, not their children. Let their own eyes see their destruction and drink deeply of God's anger.

But who can teach God a lesson? Job continues, one person may die in prosperity and good health while another dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. Both alike are buried in the dust, both eaten by the worms. But I know your thoughts, the schemes you plot against me. You will tell me the rich and wicked came to disaster because of their sins. But I tell you to ask those who have been around and they will tell the truth. Evil people are spared in times of calamity and allowed to escape. No one rebukes them openly or repays them for what they have done. Many pay respects as their body is laid to rest. So how, Job asks, how can you comfort me? All your explanations are wrong.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW Job refutes Zophar's idea that evil people never experience wealth or happiness. Clearly success to Job's friends, was measured in outward performance. But success to God is based in a person's heart.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? Job asks who can teach a lesson to God? But it is the way you respond to your own personal struggles that shows your attitude toward God. If you continue to trust him, no matter what, you begin to see that God is in control.

You may ask if wicked people become wealthy despite their sins, why should we try to be good? The wicked may seem to be getting away with sin, but there is a higher judge and future judgment (Revelation 20: 11-15). The final judgment will not be in this life, but in the next. What is important is how you view God in prosperity and poverty.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH:
Update on my niece Suzanne, she is out of rehab for a crushed leg and doing well and being cared for by her ex. Pray for Gabe and Wanda. Pray for Janice Long’s parents, especially her mother who faces another round of chemotherapy and her father with Alzheimer’s and now her mother in law also with Alzheimer’s. Their family is feeling the strain both emotionally and financially. Pray for them. Update on this family: Her mother-in-law is being taken to Oklahoma to live with an aunt who will care for her.
Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.
Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer.
Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS.
Pray for my cousin Diane who had total mastectomy surgery for breast cancer.
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has her speech back and is home , but continues to have a problem with one arm and hand. Thanks to your prayers, she is able to hobble without a cane and has been granted disability. She still has surgery scheduled on her hand, but I saw her recently and her attitude is fantastic.
Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.
Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.
Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer. Update on Robert: he has one more treatment and then three months of waiting for his psat test to come back clean.
Pray for John’s recovery from a heart attack and for the doctors who have difficulty diagnosing his other symptoms.
Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.
Pray for another friend named Carolyn whose faith remains strong, but is lost and confused about where and how to spend her elder years.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.